Two days after his comments at the Harvard India conference resulted in a backlash, fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee has apologised for what critics have called a patriarchal, misogynistic stand against women who do not know how to drape a saree.

The designer had reportedly stated in response to a question about the young generation of women being unaware of how to drape a saree that giving preference to western outfits is not a good idea. "I think, if you tell me that you do not know how to wear a saree, I would say shame on you. It's a part of your culture, (you) need stand up for it," Sabyasachi reportedly said.

With Twitterati and other fashion designers, including Masaba, slamming him for his statement, Mukherjee took to Instagram on Wednesday to share an open letter in which he apologised and explained his stance behind the statement.

"I am sorry that I used the word ‘shame’ in reference to some women’s inability to wear a sari. I truly regret that the way in which I tried to make a point about the sari enabled it to be interpreted as misogynistic, patriarchal, and non-inclusive – this was certainly not my intention," he wrote.

"My intent was to call out those women who proudly proclaim that they don’t wear saris and simultaneously shame others who wear saris by saying it makes them look older, backward, or culturally repressed," he wrote.

He went on to add that the question pertained to the cultural taboo that women shy away from wearing sarees as society tells them that the dress ages them. He was asked for his suggestion on how women can break this taboo, a question he has been asked several times previously too. However, this time, the man who has worked with the saree for 16 years lost his cool. "The ubiquity of such sentiments in our culture, evidenced by the fact that this question was posed to me at Harvard, of all places, was hard-hitting and triggered an unfortunate series of reactions on my part. Sometimes, when you are that invested in your craft, you become hypersensitive to the negativity surrounding that which you love."

He admitted that the fact the question was being asked at Harvard, "triggered a lot of pent-up frustration" he has accrued against those people who treat the saree with disdain. "It is this frustration that I unfortunately generalised to Indian women in response to the question, when I now see that I should have framed it as a call to stop shaming the sari and whomever chooses to wear it. I am passionate about textiles and our heritage, and I am sorry that in the heat of that moment, I allowed this passion to be misplaced. I take full responsibility for this."

In his letter, he called out the people who either body shame or call women who wear a saree 'an aunty', thereby belittling both the outfit and the person wearing it. It is because of these comments, he says, that many women opt for other outfits instead. They cite their inability to correctly drape a saree as the reason when this belittling is the true reason. Even celebrities who wear sarees are not spared, he wrote.

He then went on to defend his brand against the allegations of gender inequality, patriarchal attitudes, and pay gap. He stated that the majority of the staff at Sabyasachi Couture are women and they got the job purely on merit.

"Mine is a women-oriented brand and I owe my complete success to them. I have always, and will continue to love and respect women irrespective of the labels recently assigned to me. It was in this spirit that I started my brand, and that is how it shall remain till the day we decide to shut its doors," he wrote.

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